Seven years after marrying Adam Brown, I find a girl named Natalie Walker in his chat history. She is innocent and lively, always sending cute emojis with her messages. Adam’s replies are all short and to the point, but that’s what is most odd about it. I pretend to be curious and ask who she is. He says she is someone he’s saved during a mission. Adam works as a lawyer but also volunteers for a rescue team. He tells me she is pitiful, and that is why he can’t ignore her messages. But Adam never likes small talk. That day, Natalie and I are both taken hostage by kidnappers, and he can only save one of us. At that moment, he hesitates. When Adam Brown showed up with our son Lucas Brown, I was busy with the final preparations for my performance. It was the first show of my dance tour, “Rhythms”, and the whole company was taking it very seriously. Lucas rushed into my arms like a little puppy, saying, “Mom, you look so beautiful today.” His eyes, full of admiration and affection, sparkled like grapes, and I couldn’t help but smile back. But that joy faded the moment I saw Adam. He gave a little sigh, walked over to me, and quietly said, “Don’t be mad, okay? I didn’t mean it that way, honey, forgive me.” His apology was sincere, but it did nothing to ease the frustration I’d felt the day before. It all started about two weeks ago when Adam was working late every night. One evening, I happened to be free, so I decided to make dinner and bring it to him. But when I got there, there was already another lunchbox on his desk, and the owner of that lunchbox was chatting nonstop with Adam, who looked exhausted. Still, he tolerated her rambling on about her wild ideas. And when she said something particularly interesting, I even saw him flash a small, barely noticeable smile. I knew who she was, Natalie Walker, the girl Adam had rescued during a mission a year ago. I stared, lost in thought. Adam was a serious, reserved man, and he only ever showed that kind of gentle expression to people he was really close to. When had he started hanging around with someone like her? A chill ran through me, and my gut told me this girl had ulterior motives. When Adam saw me, a flicker of panic flashed in his eyes, but he quickly regained his composure. “Chloe, what are you doing here?” “I brought you dinner.” I kept it short and simple, my gaze sweeping over the cute lunchbox on the desk. “But I guess mine might be a little unnecessary.” Adam frowned slightly. “No, not at all. I’m glad you brought me dinner.” Natalie’s face twisted into a displeased expression, and she bit her lip. “Adam…” Her expression was so fake, it made me feel sick, but Adam’s brow furrowed deeper. “Chloe, don’t overthink it. Adam saved me. I brought some food to thank him.” I snorted softly. She was too young, and her flimsy excuse seemed pathetic to me. “Have you studied social etiquette? Bringing someone dinner in the middle of the night isn’t exactly the best way to show your gratitude.” I didn’t like playing nice when I didn’t mean it, and I wasn’t afraid to speak my mind. Natalie’s eyes immediately filled with tears, and she looked helplessly at Adam. Adam stayed silent. Natalie’s face was a mix of confusion, resentment, and even a little hatred toward me. Typical of someone her age. She couldn’t keep her emotions in check. “Sorry, Chloe. I was too forward. Adam, I’m sorry for causing trouble.” Natalie quickly grabbed her lunchbox and rushed out of the office. After she left, Adam turned to me and met my eyes calmly. “She’s young, Chloe. You don’t need to be so hard on her.” His words were cold and flat, with no emotion behind them, but they made me shudder. From that moment on, Adam and I started a cold war. What was the cause of the silence between us? Was it just because of Adam’s offhand comment, which wasn’t even a real expression of anger? No, it was because Adam had defended another woman in front of me. He had started shifting the affection he once gave me onto someone else. The cold war was painful. Adam pretended to be consumed by work, staying out all night, and leaving all the household responsibilities to me. I was lost, unable to understand why sending away a girl who had feelings for him, just like I always had, would make him so angry. He had even once questioned my feelings for him just because I wasn’t the jealous type.
“Honey, please don’t be mad at me. The bed in my office is so cold and hard, I can’t get used to it. Please let me come home,” Adam said. “Oh, so now you want to come home? What, do you think I’d stop you?” I replied sarcastically. Adam rubbed his head against my neck, his usual way of trying to win me over, and my heart couldn’t help but soften. “Honey, I really am sorry. Don’t stay mad.” “I made a reservation at that restaurant. Let’s go after your show. They have your favorite blueberry cake today.” Adam kept rambling, and all the resentment I’d been holding onto seemed to deflate, like air escaping from a balloon, fading away completely. “Will you still argue with me over her?” I looked at him sideways. “No, I won’t. You’re the most important person in my life.” I didn’t respond to that. Instead, I simply said, “Their seats are in the second row. You take Lucas over there.” A smile crossed Adam’s face as he picked up Lucas in his arms and leaned in to give me a quick kiss on the lips. It was annoying. He smudged my lipstick, but I couldn’t stop the happiness from bubbling up inside me. I hated the coldness in a home, and I didn’t want to keep fighting with Adam. The “Rhythms” performance went wonderfully, with thunderous applause from the audience. As I left the backstage area, I overheard people excitedly discussing the show. At the door, Lucas was standing next to Adam, holding a bouquet of flowers that was almost as tall as he was. When he saw me, he turned his body and ran over. “Mom, these flowers are from me and Dad. Do you like them?” I took the flowers and gave Lucas a kiss on his soft, chubby cheek. “Thank you, Lucas. I love them.” Lucas, shy, covered his face with his hands and burrowed into Adam’s arms. In a little boy’s voice, he said, “Mom, I’m a big boy now. You can’t kiss my face like that anymore.” Adam and I exchanged a look, and in that instant, we both shared a quiet, amused smile. This was how things should be between Adam and me, not changed because of some woman who’d only been in the picture for a year. The meal was lovely, filled with Lucas’ childlike chatter. When Lucas had finished half of his cake, he smiled and made a wish. “I hope every day is like this, happy, and that Dad and Mom always love me.” The mood was peaceful and harmonious, until suddenly Adam’s phone rang, the caller ID showing an unknown number. Adam hesitated for a moment before he hung up, but the caller didn’t give up, dialing again twice more. I turned my head, a little confused, and asked, “Who’s calling? Why aren’t you answering?” “It’s someone unimportant. No need to pick up,” he said. Hearing this, I didn’t press the matter. But then, the phone rang again. And just as I turned my head, I clearly saw the name on the screen, Natalie. “Adam, there’s a power outage at my place. I’m so scared.” In an instant, I could picture Natalie’s pitiful expression. What kind of emotions must have been behind the words she’d sent? I could hear Lucas singing a childish song off-key in the background, but my gaze was fixed on Adam’s face, searching for any sign of change. His expression remained as calm and unreadable as ever. But Adam must have sensed my suspicion. He pulled me close into his arms, “Chloe, don’t overthink it. I won’t go see her. I know where my boundaries are. The person I want to spend my life with is you.” I leaned into him, the steady beat of his heart soothing against my ear. Was this reassurance meant for me, or for himself? That fleeting worry in his eyes… Was he afraid I’d be upset, or was he concerned about Natalie?
After that night, life with Adam seemed to return to normal. Kisses and hugs, flowers and gifts were a regular part of my life again, and we were once more the picture-perfect couple that everyone admired. I wanted to lose myself in this blissful illusion, but Adam’s phone kept ringing nonstop every day, with messages coming in one after another, constantly reminding me that Natalie hadn’t completely disappeared from my life. I asked Adam to delete her number. But Adam said, “Her background is pretty sad, and she’s sensitive and insecure. If I just delete her, it might hurt her feelings. Right now, she sees me as her savior. If I cut her off abruptly, it might make her overthink things. But Chloe, you have to trust me. There’s nothing between us.” I stared silently at Adam, my emotions unreadable. With a helpless sigh, Adam handed me his phone. “If you don’t believe me, check it yourself. I really don’t have anything to do with her.” I glanced at his phone, but just for a second before I quickly turned my head away. I’ve always believed that trust is the most important thing between a husband and wife. I’d never checked Adam’s phone before. “I don’t need to check. I trust you.” A smile tugged at Adam’s lips, and he pulled me into his arms. “Chloe, you’re the best.” I whispered, “But don’t let me down, okay?” “I won’t. I’ll never disappoint you.” Despite his reassurances, Adam’s phone continued to ping with messages from Natalie every now and then. Every time I saw Natalie’s messages, written in that sweet, almost playful tone, a wave of anger surged inside me. I had never seen someone so shameless. Adam had already made his feelings clear. Why couldn’t she just let it go? But I had forgotten that sometimes, a little pain can be the beginning of love, and I had underestimated the saying, “When a woman chases a man, even a thin layer of paper is a barrier.” So, Adam started getting busy again. On the night of my second performance, Adam had told me he was busy with work, even though I knew he had the evening free. Instead of joining me, he sent a bouquet of flowers. But later, I found out that he had actually left work early that day, and I had no idea where he went. He had lied to me. When Lucas got sick, Adam said he was busy, leaving me to take Lucas to the hospital alone. Lucas had a high fever and kept calling for his dad. I tried calling Adam, but he quickly hung up. Before he hung up, I heard a woman crying in the background. On Lucas’ fifth birthday, Adam had promised to get him a retired police dog. He’d even put in a request to the station early. With his position, getting a retired police dog should have been easy. But on Lucas’ birthday, Adam apologized to him, saying the dog hadn’t been approved yet, and asked him to wait a little longer. Lucas was disappointed, and the next day, I saw Natalie walking a retired police dog in the park. What really set me off, though, was when I found a woman’s lipstick mark on Adam’s shirt. The bright red imprint felt like a hammer hitting me in the head. All I could hear was a buzzing in my ears, and the blood seemed to drain from my body. Adam had cheated.
Adam stepped out of the bathroom, rubbing his damp hair. When he saw the shirt in my hands, his eyelids twitched involuntarily. He quickly walked over to me, and when he saw the lipstick stain on the shirt, his 6’3″ frame seemed suddenly stiff and awkward. I threw the shirt in his face, my voice trembling with fury. “What’s this? A challenge?” He steadied me with his hands, urgently saying, “Chloe, Chloe, I can explain!” “Explain what? Adam, do you really think I don’t know anything? Were you really working that night during the performance? The woman on the phone when Lucas was sick… Wasn’t that Natalie? And the retired police dog you promised Lucas… You gave it to Natalie, didn’t you? You promised you wouldn’t disappoint me, but everything you’ve done lately just breaks my heart! This lipstick mark? What did you two do? You hugged her, didn’t you? After that, did you do anything else?” This past month had been pure torture. I watched as Adam grew more and more involved with Natalie, and I kept forgiving him. But Adam didn’t wake up. He chose to lie to me, and I was on the edge of confronting him. I just never expected the disgusting truth would come out this way. My emotions were so intense I could hardly breathe. I gasped for air, my chest burning with pain as if I’d been stabbed. Adam’s touch made me feel sick. “I didn’t! I pushed her away! There’s nothing between us, I swear! She’s just so pitiful, alone and bullied by everyone. She didn’t even tell me at first, I only found out when I saw her being mistreated. I felt sorry for her, but that’s all. I just wanted to help her, nothing more!” “Then why lie to me?” “Because I was afraid you’d get angry! Chloe, you care so much about Natalie, and I didn’t want her to come between us.” “Do you even hear the nonsense you’re spouting? If there was nothing between you two, why would you be afraid of me getting mad? Can’t you see she’s trying to seduce you? Tell me. Do you swear you have no feelings for Natalie Walker?” By now, Adam’s face was no longer full of fear; it was replaced with irritation. He kicked the edge of the bed in frustration. “Do you have to speak like this? You’ve never been like this before!” I gave a bitter laugh. How could he still act so righteous after everything he’s done? “Remember that debate we had back in college? Whether emotional cheating was worse or physical cheating? You said it was all cheating, and that men like that weren’t worth anything. You promised me you’d never cheat, but look at what you’ve done now!” Did twenty-year-old Adam know that thirty-year-old Adam would completely forget those words? His face went pale, and his lips trembled uncontrollably. “Adam Brown, you’re disgusting.”
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